title: Tualang honey supplement improves memory performance and hippocampal morphology in stressed ovariectomized rats.
abstract: Recently, our research team has reported that Tualang honey was able to improve immediate memory in postmenopausal women comparable with that of estrogen progestin therapy. Therefore the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of Tualang honey supplement on hippocampal morphology and memory performance in ovariectomized (OVX) rats exposed to social instability stress. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups: (i) sham-operated controls, (ii) stressed sham-operated controls, (iii) OVX rats, (iv) stressed OVX rats, (v) stressed OVX rats treated with 17β-estradiol (E2), and (vi) stressed OVX rats treated with Tualang honey. These rats were subjected to social instability stress procedure followed by novel object recognition (NOR) test. Right brain hemispheres were subjected to Nissl staining. The number and arrangement of pyramidal neurons in regions of CA1, CA2, CA3 and the dentate gyrus (DG) were recorded. Two-way ANOVA analyses showed significant interactions between stress and OVX in both STM and LTM test as well as number of Nissl-positive cells in all hippocampal regions. Both E2 and Tualang honey treatments improved both short-term and long-term memory and enhanced the neuronal proliferation of hippocampal CA2, CA3 and DG regions compared to that of untreated stressed OVX rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Badriya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Al-Rahbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia. Electronic address: rahimah@kck.usm.my.
authors.forename: Rahimah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zakaria
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zahiruddin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Othman
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Asma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zul Izhar
authors.initials: ZI
authors.lastname: Mohd Ismail
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sangu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muthuraju
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056651:CA2 Region, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D056654:CA3 Region, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003441:Crowding; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006722:Honey; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009562:Nissl Bodies / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D004958:Estradiol; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Estrogen; Hippocampus; Novel object recognition test; Ovariectomy; Rat; Social instability stress; Tualang honey